With a brutal 73-40 after restlos Boston Celtics They got rid of the Orlando Magic by 120-98they took the series 4-1 and expect rival for the semifinals of the East between the New York Knicks and the Detroit Pistons (3-2 for now).
The current NBA champions and seconds of the east this season have reached at least the semifinals of conference in eight of the last nine campaigns. The last time they did not play the ‘playoff’ was in 2013-2014 and the last time they did not exceed the first round was in 2020-2021, when they fell with the Brooklyn Nets.
Jayson Tatum (35+8+10) dazzled until it was very close to a huge triple-double with 35 points (10 of 16 in field shots with 4 of 5 in triples and 11 of 11 from the personnel line), 8 rebounds and 10 assists.
Jaylen Brown accompanied him with 23 points and 6 rebounds In Celtics again without Jrue Holiday but very successful for the basket with 56.6 % in field shots and a fantastic 54.2 % in triples (13 of 24 in total after a 0 of 6 of 6 in the first part).
The Dominican Al Horford contributed 9 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists and also stood as the fifteenth player in the NBA history with more games played in the ‘playoff’.
On the other hand, the Magic (East Septic) came to gain 9 points in the first part but in the second they came down from a gigantic 36-13 for the Celtics in the third period.
Paolo Banchero had fault problems – his absence was very threw to his team in that decisive third quarter – and ended with 19 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists in just 30 minutes.
Franz Wagner (25 points) was Orlando’s top scorerwhich once again showed his deficiencies in attack with 37.5 % in field shots and a sad 21.1 % from abroad (8 of 38).
The Magic thus close a gray season in which they had higher aspirations and that, between the multiple injuries and the disappointing performance of the template, ended up going through the ‘play-in’ to finally say goodbye in the first round, which probably opens a reflection on the present and future of the project.
